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Sarah Maricle Ayers’ criticism of a federal judge’s ruling that Florida law requiring drug testing of welfare recipients violates the Fourth Amendment’s ban on unreasonable searches and seizures may reflect her political affiliation, but it can hardly be taken seriously as legal analysis.

Ayers claims that Federal Judge Mary Scriven’s summary judgment ruling was “selective in its application of the Constitution and consideration of facts.”

Federal District Court judges apply the law according to precedents established by legal interpretations of higher courts. A decision on summary judgment for a plaintiff means that a court, interpreting all the facts most favorably toward the party against whom summary judgment is sought, finds that the plaintiff is entitled to judgment in its favor as a matter of law. Of course, an appeals court may overrule the district judge’s decision, but I would rather have the reasoning of a lawyer, not an economics major with a bad attitude toward needy families, on why that may be so.

BRIAN BUCKLEY

buckleybr@aol.com

Incoming president

needs alumni support

It is with hopeful expectation that I welcome Elmira Mangum to Florida A&M as its 11th president. The challenges facing Mangum are daunting, and she will need the enthusiastic support of all alumni. Mangum comes as an expert in budgeting and planning at Cornell, an Ivy League university. However, the needs of FAMU students are quite different from those of students at Cornell, and addressing such needs will require an expert also. We should not forget ­FAMU’s history.

It is no secret that I supported Larry Robinson for president and was critical of the trustees’ hurried vetting process, but the torch has been passed to Mangum who says she is a “change agent.” Change in a collegial atmosphere can be good, if it contributes to stability, and FAMU needs stability after a very turbulent period. Hopefully, Mangum will not change Robinson’s no-tolerance for hazing policy and will continue his efforts to promote “Excellence with Caring.”